Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage

Situated northwest of the town of Kegalle, the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage was established in 1975 by the Sri Lanka Wildlife Department in a 25 acre coconut property adjoining the Maha Oya River. Originally founded in order to afford protection for many orphaned Elephants found in the jungles of Sri Lanka, in the year 1978, the orphanage was taken over by the National Zoological Gardens from the Department of Wildlife.

About Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage
Since the inception of the program over 20 elephants have been bred here. The major focus of the orphanage is to create a natural habitat for these elephants. However, there are some exceptions: the elephants are taken to the river twice a day for a bath, and all the babies less than three years of age are still bottle fed by the mahouts and volunteers.

Boasting of largest herd of elephants in the world, the Orphanage is visited daily by many Sri Lankan and foreign tourists. The main attraction is clearly to observe the elephants bathing which is quite a spectacle.

The Orphanage is open from 8:30am to 5:45pm, and visitors can also interact with the elephants during their bathing and feeding times. The baby elephants gulp down several huge bottles of milk, fed to them by their mahouts, and then it’s off to the river for a bath. Most of the elephants eventually become ‘working’ elephants, and some older females occasionally add a baby to the herd.

Daily features of Interest at the Pinnawala Orphanage
08.30 hours - Open to visitors
09.15 hours - Bottle feeding
10.00 hours - Herd leaving to the river
12.00 hours - Return from the river
13.15 hours - Bottle feeding
14.00 hours - Herd leaving to the river
16.00 hours - Return from the river
17.00 hours - Bottle feeding
17.30 hours - Ticket counters close
18.00 hours - Close to public

Pinnawala Entrance Ticket Fees
Foreign Adult - approx USD 16
Foreign Child - approx USD 8